Andre Monroe Video Highlights

With his recruitment, a lot like his game, St. John’s defensive tackle Andre Monroe showed great burst for a lineman. The senior made an official commitment to Maryland last week, just two hours after deciding that he was tired of the recruitment process.

Monroe committed to the Terrapins, spurning other schools such as New Mexico, Akron, and Miami (OH) in order to stay close to home for his college career.

We haven’t had an interior lineman with that speed,” St. John’s head coach Joe Patterson said. “He gets off the ball so quickly, then he uses his hands so well.”

The 6-foot, 287-pound lineman is unranked by various recruiting Web sites, but that doesn’t mean the Terrapins did not get a great defensive player. Anyone who totals 67 tackles and 22 tackles for a loss in the WCAC as a interior lineman can play football with the best of them. Throw in seven sacks, and it is little wonder that Ralph Friedgen wanted this young man in those black and red under armour jerseys.

“He is able to use great leverage and get off the blocks,” St. John’s line coach Pat Ward said. “He also pursues the ball very well.”

Furthermore, Rivals.com stated that he’d probably end up as a 3-star recruit in their rankings before the end of the year, and the reason for his lack of offers from bigger programs was his lack of height. Ideally, programs are looking for 6-foot-2, 300-pound defensive tackles.

Not that the fans at College Park are complaining. After pulling the top lineman from last year’s St. John’s team in OL Peter White, it seems that there might be a pipeline forming that leads from the trenches of St. John’s to Byrd Stadium.

“I think Ralph Friedgen looks for playmaking linemen to go to their school,” Patterson said. “(Monroe) thought it was a great opportunity to go to a great team and play in a great conference.”

The Terps are banking on many of the same things that St. John’s coaching staff are – namely that Monroe will fill out a little bit more and use his senior season at St. John’s to turn into a defensive force.

“(We expect him) to play and be productive,” said Ward, who started on the offensive line for Maryland in the mid-90's. “Doing more of the same, obviously. Getting bigger, stronger, faster in the offseason, and play within himself. If he can play up to his potential, I think he’ll be fine.”

Monroe also cited new defensive coordinator Don Brown’s attacking defense as another factor in his recruitment.

"I'm happy to be a Terp,” Monroe himself told Rivals.com. “I really like how Coach Brown's defense is all about attacking."